A New Start
by Kristen3
Summary: Set after "Mary & Rhoda." After seeing how the news business has changed, Mary decides it's not where she wants to be anymore. Luckily, she has another idea, and an old friend offers to help. On-going story!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I recently got the DVD of _Mary & Rhoda_, and while it definitely left things to be desired, I enjoyed watching it again. But I couldn't help thinking there was something else Mary could've been doing besides the news. This resulted. I don't know quite where it's going yet, but I'm sure I'll figure something out!

Mary couldn't believe what she was doing as she dialed the phone. But she knew it was the right thing to do. "Hello, Murr?"

Murray could hardly believe his ears. "Mary?! What's wrong? Are you OK? I meant to call you when I heard about Steven, but, you know, with my writing and everything..."

"Don't give it a second thought," Mary said dismissively. "That's not why I'm calling. Murray, the news business has changed. It's not like it used to be. I just took a job at ABC as a producer."

"Hey, Mare, that's wonderful!" Murray couldn't have been more proud.

"Thanks. I just did a story I'm really proud of. But I had to fight to do it, and I nearly lost my job because of it. I just don't know if I want to keep fighting. Not at my age."

Murray didn't know what to say. He didn't like hearing Mary so discouraged, but he understood her feelings. He'd been out of the news business for years. Now, he'd discovered he liked writing books much better. "That's understandable. You've been doing the news for a long time."

"I know. You're not going to believe this, but I ran into Rhoda not long ago. She's right here with me!"

"Really?" Murray said. "That's terrific. I always hoped you two would patch things up."

"We did. And Rhoda just reminded me of something. I have been around for a few years. I've had a pretty good life. Maybe it's time I shared it with the world. I was wondering if you'd help me."

"What do you mean, Mare?"

"I was thinking about writing a book."

That was the last sentence Murray ever thought he'd hear from Mary. But it didn't take long to decide how he felt about that. "I think that's a great idea. I'll help in any way I can."

"That's good, Murray. I know it costs money to publish a book, and I'm prepared to put in every penny I can. But I don't know if it'll be enough, especially if I quit my job."

"If it's a question of money, say no more. I've got a few connections, and I'll do whatever's necessary to make this happen for you, Mary."

"Thanks, Murr. I really appreciate that. I can't wait to get started writing it! I'll give you a call in a few days, and we can work out the details."

"Sure thing, Mare. This book's going to be a bestseller, I just know it!"

Mary smiled as she hung up the phone. Suddenly, she felt a sense of hope and excitement she hadn't felt in years.

But Rose could only look at her mother in disbelief. "Mom, what are you doing? You're going to write a book now? Don't you think that's crazy?"

"No," Mary answered. "I mean, OK, yes, it might seem crazy, but it feels right."

"But, Mom, you don't know anything about writing a book. What are you going to write about? Daddy?"

Rhoda shook her head. "No, this has nothing to do with your father. Rose, your mother was the first woman producer WJM ever had. She was a pioneer. _That_ 's what she's going to write about."

"I think it's cool," Meredith said. "Life is short. Isn't that what you always say, Ma?"

"Exactly," Rhoda said, agreeing with her daughter. "I've known your mother a long time. And if there's one thing I know about her, it's that when she sets her mind on something, she usually succeeds." Rhoda looked at Rose, hoping her tone showed she meant business.

"Well," Rose said, realizing she wasn't going to change anyone's mind. "I'm happy for you, I guess. My mother, the author."


	2. Chapter 2

Mary walked into the newsroom the next morning. Just as before, she was greeted with a hero's welcome. She smiled, grateful for their support, but she didn't stop to chat. Last night, she and Rhoda had stayed up late, talking. They'd discussed Mary's life, and what she would include in her book. The conversation had made her more certain than ever that this was the right decision. Now the only thing left was to tell Jonah she was quitting. It wouldn't be easy, but Mary was determined not to back down.

As she approached Jonah's office, she saw him use his remote to close the door. But Mary made it just in time before the door had closed. "Jonah, we need to talk."

"You've thought it over, and decided you'd rather be successful than nice?"

"No. I'm not going to sell out just to get ratings. That's not why I got into this business."

"Then why did you?" Jonah asked, turning his attention to his computer.

"Well, I had just left my fiancee, and moved to a new city. I needed a job, and I saw an ad for a secretarial position at WJM. Once I interviewed, -"

Jonah cut Mary off. "You know what? I don't need to hear the story of your life. Just tell me what you came in here to tell me."

"Well, it's funny you mention the story of my life, because that's what I wanted to tell you. I want to write a book."

"Oh, yeah. That's a good idea." Jonah rolled his eyes, already bored with this conversation.

"No, really, I'm serious. I recently reconnected with my best friend, and she reminded me of all the things I've gone through in my life, from being one of the first female news producers in Minneapolis, to working for a network, to marrying a Senator. I really think I could do more good by sharing my story than by fighting you on every news story. I just don't have the energy for that anymore."

"Let me get this straight. You made such a big deal about doing that gang-shooting thing your way, and now you just want to quit?"

"Yes," Mary said, nodding. She hoped Jonah would see how important this was to her.

"Well, I think that's the craziest thing I've ever heard, and I produce reality shows. But hey, it's your life. You want to flush it down the toilet, be my guest."

"I've given this a lot of thought, Jonah. I have an old friend who's promised to help me get it published. I know it's not going to be easy, starting a new chapter in my life, but it's something I've done before. Someone once told me that I had spunk, and I think it's about time I proved it."


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm so proud of you, kid," Rhoda said, hugging Mary when she came home with the news that she'd officially quit her job.

As the embrace ended, Mary knew she could never be ungrateful for whatever twist of fate had brought Rhoda back into her life. Back in Minneapolis, their friendship had always been important to her, but after seeing what her life was like without Rhoda, it meant so much more now. "I'm proud of me, too. Being away from the news business for so long, I wasn't sure if I still had it in me to stand up to Jonah like that, but it seems I do." Mary smiled. She felt more like the old Mary than she had in years.

"Well, I guess the next step is to start writing the story of your life, huh?" Rhoda asked. "That should be a cinch."

"It's going to be hard, that's for sure, but I'm looking forward to it. Let's face it, I've done my share of hard things."

"Yeah, like working with Ted Baxter," Rhoda pointed out.

Mary gave Rhoda a look. She wanted to protest and say that working with Ted wasn't that hard, but they both knew it would be a lie. "Come on, let's get started on my best-selling book. You're going to help me, right?"

"Of course. Did you even have to ask?"

"Thanks," Mary said, squeezing her friend's hand.

Mary knew, if she was going to write about her life, she'd have to start at the beginning. People would never understand why she'd felt the need to move to Minneapolis if they didn't know what she'd left behind. In order to do that, she'd need to relive her childhood again. She knew she'd had a good one. In fact, Rhoda had often teased her about her "perfect" life. Even so, these were memories Mary hadn't thought about in years. Life had taken her far from Roseburg, and in some ways, she wished she could go back there and start over.

Within a few hours, Mary and Rhoda had retrieved a few of Mary's belongings from her storage unit. They returned with several boxes of old photographs, yearbooks, and mementos of Mary's past. "Oh, Rhoda," she said, looking at the boxes before her. "How am I ever supposed to turn all this junk into a story that even makes sense?"

"Kid, you can't give up now. That's not like you. You haven't even started. You don't have to do this alone. I'm here. And I'm sure the kids'll help, too."

The mention of their daughters made Mary's heart stop. "No. I don't think I want Rose involved in this. I haven't exactly told her that much about my life before her father."

"So? It's not like you have any deep, dark secrets, Mare. I've known you for thirty years, and I'm pretty sure you don't have a mean bone in your body."

"True, but I'm not sure Rose would agree. I'm her _mother_. Did you want to hear all about your mother's private life?"

Rhoda shuddered. "Of course not. I moved to Minneapolis just to get away from her."

"There you go," Mary said. "Rose and I have gotten so close these last couple of years. I just don't want anything to jeopardize that."

"Kid, I think you're worrying over nothing. Rose loves you, and there's nothing that's gonna change that."

"Have I told you lately how grateful I am that you're here?" Mary asked.

"Yeah," Rhoda replied."But you can tell me again."


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Mom," Rose said, coming into Mary's apartment. "I got another gig down at Giggles. I was sort of hoping you could come -" Rose stopped short when she saw Rhoda and her mother sitting at the kitchen table laughing their heads off. Before them were a mess of photographs and letters. "What's going on?"

"Your mom and I were just remembering the first time we met."

"But what's all this?" Rose asked, pointing to the table.

"It's for my book," Mary explained. "Rhoda's helping me with it, since she was there for most of the important things in my life."

"Yup, I was there for the beginning of Mary's wonderful news career – and all of her bad dates!"

"Rhoda!"

"Bad dates?" Rose asked, sitting down. "No, wait, how did you guys meet? I'm not sure if Mom ever told me that story."

"She didn't?" Rhoda asked. "Seriously, kid?" She turned to Mary in mock horror.

"What can I say?" Mary shrugged. "Being a news producer can keep a person pretty busy."

'"So how'd it happen?" Rose suddenly found herself feeling curious. There was a whole other part to her mother's life that she knew hardly anything about.

"I threw her out of her own apartment," Rhoda said. "Or, at least, I tried to."

"Really?" Rose asked her mother.

Mary nodded. "I was looking at my new apartment, and when I opened the curtains, there was Rhoda, on the terrace, washing the windows. She came in and ordered me right out."

"And you guys became best friends?" Rose could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"Yeah, well, when you're thirty and single, you need all the help you can get!" Rhoda laughed.

"So, what about these bad dates?" The more Rose heard, the harder it was to believe that her mom had once been carefree and single. But she suddenly wanted to know everything she could about her mom's former life.

"How much time have we got?" Rhoda asked. "I had my share, too. I once asked a guy to dinner, only to have him bring his wife. That was unforgettable. But your mom probably had me beat."

"Really, Mom?"

Mary felt strangely embarrassed. She didn't know if her daughter should hear any of these stories. After Rose's teen years, they had finally become close, almost friends. But would Rose feel the same way after finding out all this? "Rhoda, I don't know if we should talk about this now. We really should get back to my book."

"The kid wants to hear a few stories. What's the harm?" Rhoda asked.

Rose nodded enthusiastically.

"All right," Mary agreed reluctantly. "But don't tell her any embarrassing ones!"

"Your mom once dated a short guy," Rhoda said bluntly. "She introduced him to me by saying, 'Rhoda, this is Eric Shrimp.'"

" _Rhoda_!"

Rose laughed. "So, what were some of the others?"

"Well, once, Mare and I joined a club for divorced people."

"Divorced people? Mom, you were only ever married to Dad."

"Well, we sort of lied and said were divorced," Mary explained. "I met a weird dentist who was in love with my teeth. And it turned out most of the club members were really single just like us."

"Wow, I never knew stuff like this happened in real life," Rose said in amazement. "It kind of makes my dating life not seem so bad!"

"Any date you've ever had, I guarantee we've had worse!" Rhoda said, gesturing to herself and Mary.

Rose nodded slowly. She now had a whole new appreciation for her mother. "Now I see why you were so happy with Dad."

"Your father was the best thing that ever happened to me," Mary said immediately. "Well, him and my career."

It was hard to picture her mom, the award-winning news producer, as being like her. But she smiled. "I think I get it now. Why you're doing this book. It's like when Dad ran for office. He always said he wanted to make a difference in the world. He wanted to help people."

Mary nodded sadly. "That was one of the things I loved most about him."

Rose got up and hugged her mother tightly. "Daddy would be proud of you," she said. "So am I."


	5. Chapter 5

Mary could hardly believe it when she turned on her laptop and checked her email. The book had been out for about a week now. While it hadn't topped the best-seller list, it was quite successful. More importantly, Mary's story was having an impact. Her inbox was proof. Mary was flooded with emails from young women thanking her for writing. A few even said they were considering giving up on a career in journalism, before finding out how Mary's hard work and determination had paid off. Mary wasn't sure, but she suspected Rose was responsible for helping the book reach its intended audience. She had spread the word to a few of her friends, and, slowly, word-of-mouth grew.

In fact, her book had garnered enough attention that Mary was actually invited on a couple of local talk shows in New York. The idea of being on-camera made her a bit nervous, as she'd rarely done anything like it in her career. Just before she was about to go on, a memory flashed in her mind. She recalled being so annoyed by Ted's comments during her on-air editorial that she finally told him to shut up during the live broadcast.

Luckily, Rhoda was by her side as always. "Don't worry, kid, you'll be fine. Just forget about the cameras. It's like any other conversation you've had in your life. I think you can handle that." Rhoda laughed, a sign that she was, as usual, using humor to relax Mary's nerves.

"Thanks," Mary said, giving her friend a quick hug. "I know I've said that a lot lately, but I do mean it."

"I know," Rhoda said, squeezing her hand.

Just then, a stagehand informed Mary that it was time for her segment. A wave of nerves hit, but she reminded herself that she'd dealt with a lot worse than this in her TV career.

Once Mary began talking to the two hosts of _Wake Up, New York_ , she found that it was much easier than she anticipated. She explained how she found herself in the news business. A few anecdotes about Ted Baxter got laughs from the crowd, especially when she recalled how he reacted upon meeting Walter Cronkite. Of course, the hosts made sure to ask Mary about her marriage to a politician. She answered their questions, but did not elaborate much. People seemed to expect that there were some dark secrets, since politics and sex scandals seemed to go hand-in-hand. But that was not the point of her book, and she did her best to make that clear.

"I loved my husband a great deal. Losing him was devastating. But I've found that my life isn't over just because his is," she said to the camera. "That's what I want people to take away from my story. Even though things don't always work out the way you plan, sometimes they end up being _better_. I spent a lot of my life single, too. There were many nights I sat with my best friend, Rhoda, wondering when we would meet the right man. I dated a lot of wrong ones, that's for sure! But if I can end up finding somebody, then there's hope. Trust me on this." Mary smiled, hoping her words would strike a chord with any young women who might be watching.

After a few closing remarks from the hosts, Mary's interview was done. She walked off stage, grateful to see Rhoda there waiting for her, with a huge grin on her face. "See, what did I tell you? You were great!"

"Well, I never could've done this... _any_ of this, if it hadn't been for you. Back when you first tried to throw me out of my apartment, I never could've imagined we'd end up here."

"Me, either, kid," Rhoda said, as she put her arm around Mary. They walked out of the studio together. Suddenly, an idea hit Rhoda. _My best friend is a successful author. That's worth celebrating._ As she and Mary got into the car, Rhoda did her best to hide the smile on her face. The best kind of celebration, she knew, was one that was unexpected. Whatever she needed to do to make it happen, she'd do. Mary was more than worth it.

 **The End**


End file.
